


The Mess That We Call Life

by BerryMaw



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Dadsona is not Amanda's father in this, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Relationships, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Growing Up, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Religious Conflict, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Swearing, The Country Dad, Underage Smoking, mental struggle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 21:16:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11700057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerryMaw/pseuds/BerryMaw
Summary: Charlie Canter is a father who, after a rough divorce and struggling with money issues, moves himself and his children to a property just outside of Maple Bay. He's determined to start over and raise his kids on his own. However, when a man appears on his porch brandishing a plate of freshly-made cookies, he learns that the struggles have really only just begun.[ Note; I'm really bad at summaries, so just give the story a shot. It, hopefully, isn't as bad as the summary! ]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Looks like you decided to give the story a chance. Thanks! Haha~ 
> 
> So, this story is going to include a different ending for Joseph other than the cult ending and the 'sorry but i talked with my wife and we are gonna stay in a relationship' (like what the fuck) ending. One that's much more realistic, hopefully.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story. Please leave a comment and feel free to give it a kudos or two. (:

 

It had only been a week and it seemed that everything was falling into pace, slowly but surely. All of the boxes had been unpacked and all objects were put into their proper places. The home had actually been nicer than Charlie had expected, even after seeing pictures - the outside was a light cream with white-framed windows, the roof was a light red. The walls were light on the inside, of varying colors with each room. A fitted kitchen that wasn't too small, with newer but standard appliances. A nicely-sized living room that could surely fit the entire family and a red brick fireplace to keep them warm during the winter. A hand-made post fence surrounded the property, and a little walk down a hill lead to a large, fenced-in pasture that had a stable attached to it, big enough for their three horses to rest comfortably. Next to it was a fenced area with chicken wire - not too big but not too small for chickens or ducks, or whatever fowl one could decide to have. For the price, he was glad it was as nice as it was. 

 

"What're you up to, dad?" 

 

Charlie looked over his shoulder at the front door, seeing his eldest standing there and watching him curiously. As she approached, he couldn't fail to notice how adult she seemed. Annie had grown into a fine young adult and was truly beautiful. It made him worry a little. With those deep chocolate eyes and tan skin, she could hook any guy that she wanted. He didn't want that to happen. To him, she was still his baby, even though she was fifteen years old.

 

"Just watchin' the sunrise," he said, gesturing to the tree-ridden horizon, which was delicately painted shades of pink, orange and yellow, "what're doin' up? It's five-thirty."

 

"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged, joining him at the railing of the porch, leaning onto it with her hands clasped and elbows on the wood, "so I came down to make myself somethin' to eat, but I saw you out here. Thought I'd join you."

 

"That's nice of you." He chuckled.

 

The two of them went quiet, watching the sunrise together. It was such a gorgeous scene, though Charlie couldn't fail to recognize that the sunrise was even better in Alabama. His previous home had no trees to block most of the view, so he could enjoy the sight of the colors rolling up and over the hill until they faded out and revealed a usually blue sky that had an amazing lack of clouds almost all the time during the summer. It was different in Maple Bay. The sky wasn't very cloudy, but he could already see some clouds in the sky, blocking the very pale blue that was beginning to form.

 

After the sun had finally come up, Charlie turned to his daughter. "What do you want for breakfast? I'll cook it this mornin'."

 

"You sure?" Annie raised an eyebrow, looking at him, "I normally cook today."

 

"Don't worry about it," he said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand and then repeating, "what do you want?"

 

"Pancakes?" She said with a small grin.

 

"With blueberries and chocolate chips?" He smiled a bit at the sight of her looking excited.

 

"You know it." She nodded.

 

The two of them headed inside and he watched for a moment as his daughter headed upstairs to get dressed. He was truly blessed to have a daughter who so willingly took on the role of mother figure after the divorce. They had a schedule set for them both, something they had put together to make things easier. Annie cooked every other day and the days that she didn't cook, she collected the eggs and fed the horses, and if she remembered, she woke up the little ones. The divorce was only a couple months ago, of course, so he knew it still stung a little bit in her. It certainly did for him. He never even suspected his wife doing what she did and the thought made his stomach churn.

 

So, instead of thinking about what had sent him away with his kids from the home they all grew up in, he began to cook. He easily made the batter with a smile, whisking the ingredients together. He wasn't an amazing cook or anything, but when one had that many kids, he had to learn how to at least cook simple stuff. As he began to pour the batter into the pan, he heard the pitter-patter of little feet. He glanced over his shoulder to see Bella and Benjamin, the twins. Not identical, of course, but they had their similarities and own routines, like walking down the stairs hand-in-hand. 

 

"Mornin' you two," Charlie chuckled at their tired expressions, turning back to the pan to shift the pancake a bit with the spatula, "how'd you sleep?"

 

"I slept good," Bella smiled a little bit, using her free hand to rub her eye and then to help Benjamin into a chair at the kitchen counter, "what about you, Benji?"

 

Benjamin didn't respond and Charlie did his best to keep his smile on his face. He knew that out of all the children, the divorce hit Benjamin the hardest. He had been a complete mama's boy and loved their mother so much. He didn't quite understand why they had separated, so Charlie knew that in the back of his mind, his youngest son probably thought it was his fault that they split.

 

"Pancakes?" The little boy said softly, turning his head more so that he could see his father properly.

 

"Yup," Charlie looked at him and then smiled a bit more, "with blueberries and chocolate. It'll give you some energy today!"

 

Benjamin then turned back to Bella as she began to giggle and talk about the dream she had. For a moment, Charlie watched his son. Benjamin had a bad eye, so he had turned at an odd angle to look at his twin. The cloudy hazel eye was not even looking in the right direction, from what little Charlie could even see of the eye itself. The doctors said that there really wasn't any need to have surgery on it, since Benjamin had gotten so used to it so quick, even when he couldn't walk yet. So Charlie and his wife ignored it and did their best to help him out when he needed it.

 

"Dad!" the sudden yell from Annie startled him, making him look over to what little of the stairs was visible to him at the angle he was at, "Graham won't get out of my room!"

 

"Graham!" Charlie rolled his eyes as he called his eldest son, "Come on and leave your sister be! Get on down here for breakfast!"

 

A few minutes later, Graham came down the stairs with a big grin on his thickened lips. Following him was a rather irritated Annie, who was dressed in her usual outfit - a t-shirt (which today was black and said, 'country music is cheaper than therapy' in white with a picture of two shotguns crossed to form an 'X'), a pair of distressed blue jeans that were full of rips and covered in old dirt and grass stains, a big and tightly-fastened glittery belt and her brown and pink boots, which she had owned for years. In her ears, a pair of delicate and small, gold hoop earrings with intricate details. Arabian. From her mother.

 

"Dad! The 'cakes!" Bella cried suddenly.

 

Charlie turned swiftly back to the pan and noticed a little bit of smoke coming from the pancake in the pan. He hurriedly flipped it, thanking God for having put pam on the pan beforehand. The bottom was blackened and the kids groaned and giggled a bit.

 

"Thanks, Bells," he laughed a bit, making sure the fresh side was not nearly as burnt before moving it onto a plate, "we might've had a real disaster in our hands."

 

"I saved the kitchen!" The little girl cried, fueling a little more laughter from the kids, and this time their father as well. 

 

As the kids sat in their respective chairs at the counter, Charlie continued to cook the pancakes. He listened to them chat about whatever came to mind and heard a whirlwind of messy conversation ("That's a pretty color!" and "Thanks. I bought that eyeshadow you liked. I can give you a makeover tonight, if you want.", and then, "Wanna help me with chores today, Benji?" and "If I have to."). It didn't take him long to finish the pancakes, making more than enough for all of them. He stood behind the island counter and bowed his head, which his children followed suit. It didn't matter where or when, if they were all eating together, they said grace.

 

"Dear Lord," Charlie spoke gently and calmly, "we thank you for this wonderful breakfast that you have blessed us with. We hereby thank you for the good health you have blessed upon my dear children and myself, and for keeping us in good spirits as we adjust to this new life. We say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

 

"Amen!" The kids exclaimed before raising their heads and opening their eyes.

 

Their breakfast was relatively quiet. Everyone was stuffing their mouths with pancakes and a little too preoccupied to talk much. Charlie noticed that Benjamin was more poking at his pancakes, which Annie had cut up for him, just the way he liked. He'd talk to him about that later. And then his eyes found Graham and Bella, noticing just how much they were eating. They must have been hitting a growth spurt. Annie was eating just how she usually did, her phone on the counter beside her, idly scrolling through whatever app teenagers were interested in now. Or whatever app she was interested in. All of the kids had been home-schooled by their mother, and on Monday, they were to start going to public school in Maple Bay. He knew they were all pretty uncomfortable with the notion, but he wasn't qualified to teach them.

 

"Alright, y'all," Charlie said, looking at them once he was finished eating his fill, "chores for the day. Annie, you'll feed and brush down the horses. Bella, you need to clean your room, and then I want you to go and collect the eggs from the coop, then feed 'em. Graham, I need you to cut twine off a new bale of hay for the evening feedin' and then make a check list of what tools we need to replace outta my box. I think I lost some. Benjamin, you'll stay in here with me and do dishes, and then clean your own room. Alright, everyone?"

 

There were grumbles, but nods and quiet agreements. He knew the kids hated chores, but he wanted them to help out. One-by-one, the kids put their plates in the sink and then scattered off to do whatever chores they were assigned. Soon, it was only Benjamin and Charlie. He noticed that his son had barely touched his food. 

 

"Hey, bud," Charlie leaned against the island counter, frowning slightly, "you not hungry?"

 

"Not really." Benjamin shook his head.

 

"Alright, well, scrape what's left into the garbage," Charlie instructed, "and grab the stool. We've got some dishes to wash."

 

The next hour or so was pretty quiet altogether. Charlie and Benjamin washed the dishes - Charlie actually washed them and Benjamin dried them and put them in the rack to completely dry the rest of the way. Kids came and went, doing their chores as instructed. But Charlie didn't pay much attention to anyone but his youngest son, who was at his side. He noticed that the young boy had some darker bags under his eyes. Not super noticeable, but with the sunlight drifting in through the kitchen window, he could see the puffiness. Had he also been crying?

 

"Benji?" He said after they had finished and noticed the young boy trying to escape to his room, "Can I talk with you?"

 

"Okay." Benjamin said softly.

 

Both of them plopped onto the bottom step of the stairs. "Are you doin' okay?"

 

"Mhm." Benjamin nodded, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't happy.

 

"Are you lyin' to me?" Charlie looked at him.

 

There was a silence, then Benjamin sighed deeply, "Mhm."

 

"Why?"

 

"I miss mama." 

 

Charlie felt his heart plummet into his stomach. He knew that the separation was hard, but how could he tell his youngest, the one who loved his mother the most, that their mother didn't want anything more to do with them?

 

"I know, bud," Charlie gently pulled Benjamin into his side, looking down at him, "but mama is super busy, and I gotta take care of you guys for her."

 

"Okay." The response was quiet and hesitant, but it was obvious he understood.

 

Charlie smiled ever so slightly as Benjamin looked up at him. He hated seeing the sadness in the little boy's eyes. "How about we plan dessert for after dinner tonight?"

 

That seemed to lighten up Benjamin, as he responded with a smile and said, "Okay."

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was about noon when the kids seemed to have finished their chores. Like any father would, he went around and double-checked their work, making sure that they hadn't half-assed anything. He knew what it was like to be a kid and not wanting to do his chores. He had gotten in trouble plenty of times when he was younger because he did his job not as well as he could have. But everybody seemed to have done everything they needed to do. Bella had cleaned her room very thoroughly, as had Benjamin. The horses had been watered and fed, and also brushed meticulously by Annie. She had even braided their mare's mane and tail. It looked really nice. The eggs had been collected and Graham came back from the barn with a list of what was missing. Not too much. Just a flat-head screwdriver and a couple of wrenches. He could get it all fairly cheap in town when he went in next. 

 

"Hey, dad?" Annie's voice made him look up from his bible, which he had spread open on his lap as he sat down on the couch.

 

"Yeah, sweetheart?" He said.

 

"Does my schedule look okay?"

 

She handed him a piece of paper that had all of her classes typed out on it. Her schedule looked fairly busy and he didn't envy her in the slightest. Pre-Calculus, Advanced English, Biology, Government, Wood Shop and Physical Education. He knew that she was good at math and science, so she wouldn't have any issues there. She was average when it came to English and history-type classes. She would probably struggle with wood shop, but she was decent when it came to measuring stuff. She was always active, working on the farm and such, so he had a feeling physical education would be easy as long as she didn't get lazy about it.

 

"Looks busy, but everythin' seems to be in order." He handed it back to her. "You excited?"

 

"I mean, kinda," she shrugged, plopping down on the couch next to him, "I'll get to meet some people, but I doubt they'll be like me, with the accent and all and growin' up in the country and stuff. But maybe I'll make some friends through my makeup stuff, and I like to be active. There's gotta be a sport I can join or somethin' to make friends too."

 

"That's a good way of lookin' at it," he smiled a little bit, admiring how his daughter was trying to be optimistic about it, "so make sure to teach that to your other siblings. They're pretty nervous, I think."

 

"Not Graham," Annie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "he's super excited. He's already bragging about how he's gonna be in the football team and how he's going to do better in P.E. than me. Not only that, but I have to share a science class with him because he tested ahead of his peers. That's gonna suck."

 

"Where did your optimism go?" Charlie chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

 

"I mean, it's there," she argued playfully as she stood up, "but every single time I think about him and I want to throw him through a window."

 

"Alright, alright," Charlie rolled his eyes and smiled a bit as his daughter laughed, "but what about Bells and Benji?"

 

"Well, I know Bella is excited," Annie confirmed, "she's talking about how she wants to make some friends and finally have sleepovers and stuff." but then her face fell a little and her eyebrows furrowed, "I don't know 'bout Benji. He's been pretty..."

 

"Distant?" Charlie suggested.

 

"Yeah..." Annie sighed, her face falling into something sort of sad as she crossed her arms, "I think the divorce is really hard on him. I mean, him and Bella don't really understand it like you, Graham and I do. But he knows he's not with mama."

 

"Exactly," Charlie nodded, his face falling a little bit too, "I don't really know him as much as Nyah does, and she wants nothin' to do with any of you."

 

Annie was quiet for a bit, looking out the window. Charlie followed her gaze and saw Graham and Bella playing tag, and in the background, little Benjamin sitting on the wooden swing attached to a large branch on one of the trees. He wasn't even swinging. Just sitting there, his eyes out to the pasture, where the horses were roaming. Even from the living room, he could still see the slight bags under his eyes.

 

"I can't believe her!" Annie exclaimed suddenly, rolling her eyes and sitting right back down, looking at Charlie with a look that screamed anger and displeasure, "She raised me for fifteen years, Graham for fourteen, Bella and Benjamin for ten years and she can't even try to make an attempt to contact us. Not that I want to even talk to her because of the shit she pulled. But for Bells and Benji, she could at least try!"

 

"Watch your language," Charlie chuckled, but it was dry and humorless as he slung his arm across the back of the couch behind Annie's head, "but you're right. It's sad that she won't try and talk to the little ones. Especially with how much Benjamin loves her." but then, he looked at her and raised an eyebrow softly, "but, let's say she did call, would you talk to her?"

 

Annie went quiet again for a moment, but then looked at her father. "I don't think so. If she didn't even say 'goodbye' to us when we left, why would I want to say 'hello' to her if she called?"

 

Charlie was feeling a strange mixture of pride and shock. Not only was he surprised that Annie had cut off her mom emotionally so quick, only three months after the divorce, but her intelligence was showing even more than before. So, the statement caught him off-guard. But after a minute, he sighed and nodded. He was quickly trying to think of a way to lighten the conversation. Then, he thought of something.

 

"But on a lighter note," he said with a small smile, "do you want to go to church on Sunday? I hear there's a really nice church in town and they're welcome to new people comin' in. They even have a youth group."

 

"Ooh, that sounds kinda fun," Annie nodded, the light in her eyes slowly coming back, "I wanna start going back to church. I've missed it. Maybe we could let Bella and Benjamin go to the youth group. Maybe even Graham, if he wants."

 

"What about you?" He asked curiously.

 

"I think I'm getting a little too old for youth group," She chuckled a little bit, "but I do wanna go to church on Sunday. It makes me happy."

 

"Alright, I'll ask Graham too." Charlie said with a smile.

 

"Okay," Annie got up again and stretched her arms above her head, "I'm gonna go outside and saddle up one of the horses. Might as well get some ridin' in. Love ya."

 

Charlie barely got out, "Love you too." before she headed outside and down the porch steps. He chuckled to himself and set his bible aside, using the ribbon in it to mark his page. He stared at it for a moment. One Christmas, him and Nyah bought the kids all personalized bibles for church. It had been pretty expensive, but it was worth it when they saw how happy they were. Annie's was a faded lilac color with flowers imprinted into the cover. It had her full name on the bottom right corner, as did all of them. Graham's was black with a thorn crown imprinted on half of the cover. Bella's was light brown with a bright pink clasp that had a silver metal cross on it. Magnetic. Benjamin's was white, with the words 'HOLY BIBLE' printed across the top of it and on the spine. A tiny, metal black cross adorned the front. Charlie and Nyah stuck with the simple and original books.

 

Running his hands over the cover of his, he wondered if Nyah even had hers. But then he shook his head. It didn't matter anymore. He then turned and went to head back to his room, thinking he could get a nap in before lunch. However, at the sound of the screen door slamming, he turned around to see Graham. Before he could lecture him on letting it slam like that, his son said,

 

"Someone's comin' up the driveway." 

 

The old Alabama man in him wanted to grab his shotgun and hold it protectively while his kids stood behind him, but there was a good chance that doing that would get the cops called on him. Maple Bay was not near Alabama, nor was it anything like that southern state. So instead, he simply headed outside. The car was nicer than what he had, a silver and smaller car, but obviously big enough for passengers. It pulled up in the spare parking spot next to his truck. Benjamin, Bella and Graham had left their spot near the tree to hurry up to the porch. Annie was in the distance, but she was riding her horse up to the fence. Once she got it up to the wooden fence, she hopped off of it and tied it loosely to the post, then easily scaled the fence and hurried to her dad. The kids all were nervous. This was just as unusual for them as it was for their father.

 

The man who stepped out of the silver car was certainly not the kind of male that belonged out there. Tan khaki pants and nice shoes, a pastel pink button-up shirt with short sleeves and a pale blue sweater tied around his neck loosely. His pale hair was neatly cut and styled and his eyes crinkled at the sides with the way he smiled. So friendly. He approached, brandishing a plate of cookies that smelled amazing. Charlie had never been a baker.

 

"Hello!" he said with a happy smile, "I'm Joseph. I heard someone finally bought this home out here and I just had to come and meet the buyer."

 

"That would be me," Charlie walked down the steps, extending his hand easily to shake Joseph's, "I'm Charlie. Charlie Canter."

 

"It's so nice to meet you." Joseph's smile was unbelievably genuine and it put Charlie a little off-guard.

 

"Come in?" Charlie suggested, "We got coffee. Annie could probably make some tea or somethin'."

 

"Well, I'd be glad to." 

 

The kids hurried in ahead of the men, seemingly on edge and Charlie couldn't blame them. Though Bella stopped in the doorway and waited for Joseph to walk through, at least, before bombarding him.

 

"Hi!" she greeted with a big smile, showing off the gap between her teeth, "I'm Bella!"

 

"Nice to meet you, Bella!" Joseph chuckled, smiling down at the little girl.

 

"Where do you live at?" Bella asked curiously, following them into the kitchen while the other kids stood near the stairs, curiously eyeballing the man, "Do you live out here like us? You don't look like it."

 

"Bella!" Charlie looked at his daughter and then at Joseph, "I'm sorry, she's excited to meet someone new.

 

"Don't worry about it," Joseph laughed, "she's quite adorable." then, he looked at her again, "I live in Maple Bay in a little cul-de-sac with my family."

 

"Do you have a daughter?" Bella gasped, giving off the appearance of an excited dog - and Charlie knew that if she had a tail, it would be wagging, "We just moved here. I wanna make a friend!"

 

"Sheesh, sis," Graham finally approached, laughing awkwardly, "give the guy a break. You're gonna make his ears bleed or somethin'."

 

"This is my oldest son, Graham." Charlie chuckled, "Oh, and tea? Coffee?"

 

"A cup of coffee would be wonderful, thank you." Joseph said easily, clasping his hands as he looked at Graham, "Well, you certainly look like your father. In fact, you all do."

 

"Thanks," Charlie smiled a bit at Joseph, getting him a cup of coffee from the maker, "here you go."

 

"Thank you." Joseph said, taking it and taking a sip of it, sighing contentedly before asking, "So, where did you move from? I can hear an accent. The south?"

 

"Alabama." Graham said, nodding.

 

"That's quite a ways!" Joseph exclaimed, eyebrows raising, "I hope the drive was nice, at least. I bet it was beautiful."

 

"I mean, the scenery was," Annie said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, "but dad singing John Denver for two hours in a row was not."

 

"I'm not bad at singing!" Charlie protested.

 

"It's not that you're bad at singing," his oldest daughter said with a small grin, "it's that after the second time of listening to the CD on repeat, we all decided it was enough. At least we didn't start screaming until the second hour."

 

There was laughter from the kids and Charlie saw Joseph cover his mouth with a grin behind it. The man seemed like an easily amused person and Charlie sort of appreciated that. It was hard to try and entertain most adults those days, and even kids and teenagers. He was just glad his kids were raised with him, a man with a good sense of humor. They adapted it, mostly. Graham could be pretty dirty-minded sometimes. Then again, he was a growing teenage boy and unfortunately, Charlie expected that sort of thing.

 

"Now, who is this young man?" Joseph asked, looking past Annie's legs to see the last child.

 

"That's Benjamin, my twin brother!" Bella said happily, looking at him and then frowning slightly, "He's been kinda shy since we moved here."

 

"Don't worry," he smiled warmly at little Benjamin, who was sitting on the last step of the stairs and looking at him quietly, "my son Chris is the same way. Prefers to be alone. Maybe you'll meet him eventually."

 

Benjamin nodded slowly, but Charlie could see the apprehension in his eyes. Everyone but Bella and Joseph seemed to know the truth behind his 'shyness' which was really just introversion due to trauma. 

 

"What do you do for a livin'?" Charlie asked after a moment of silence.

 

"Ah, well," Joseph smiled, "I am a youth minister at the local church in Maple Bay. I run the youth group, and of course, my family is at church every Sunday."

 

"Cool!" Graham grinned, "Bells, Benji and I were thinkin' of going to the youth group. Dad told us about it today."

 

"And I'm gettin' a bit too old for the youth thing," Annie giggled lightly, "but I'm totally goin' back to church on Sundays. I miss it a lot."

 

"How wonderful!" Joseph said, his smile widening, "I'm so happy to hear we will have more youth attending. It's always nice to spread the message of love and faith to the young ones."

 

Charlie nodded, "That's what I think too."

 

"Me too!" Bella nodded, "I think that more kids should believe in God because he makes us happy and he made us!"

 

"How sweet!" Joseph simply swooned at Bella, gently pinching her cheek and smiling more when she giggled and swatted at his hand.

 

Charlie was kind of glad he had invited the man in. Joseph seemed to be a good person and it was always good to have a man of God on the side of a family like his, going through rough times and such. And knowing someone when going to a new church was also very good, as it made him not seem so strange and not stick out as much. 

 

"Well, I regretfully need to go," Joseph carefully set the mug of half-drank coffee on the counter behind him, along with the cookies, "I have things to do this evening and my children want a movie night. Thank you so much for letting me stay a little while."

 

"No problem," Charlie shook hands with Joseph, nodding once and smiling a little, "it was nice to meet someone in the neighborhood."

 

"Well, I will see you all on Sunday!" Joseph smiled as he walked to the door, Graham following him to close it behind him.

 

The chorus of 'goodbye's that came from the kids were rather genuine and happy, which made Charlie feel a little more at ease. They seemed rather impressed with Joseph, and honestly, so was he. He was amazed that someone that kind actually existed. Then again, Maple Bay  _was_ different than their town was in Alabama. The nice people here were actually genuinely good people.

 

"He was cool!" Graham exclaimed, looking out the window as he drove away, "I'm totally goin' to youth group."

 

"I might actually go too," Annie nodded, looking at her siblings and then her dad, "he was fun to be around."

 

"He was super nice!" Bella giggled, rubbing her cheek where it had been pinched.

 

"Alright, normally I don't do this," Charlie said with a sigh, but unfolded the cling-wrap around the plate of cookies, "but you all may have one cookie before lunch."

 

The kids happily scrambled over to the plate, grabbing a cookie. Benjamin was last, carefully grabbing one and then returning to his seat on the stairs. Even Charlie grabbed one. He wasn't much of a chocolate sweet sort of person and more of a fruit pie sort of sweet person. But when he bit into the cookie, he was beyond surprised. They were fantastic.

 

"Oh my God," Annie moaned happily, leaning against the island counter, covering her full mouth as she talked, "these are so good. He's a baking god."

 

"Dude, we gotta step up our game," Graham said, "the last time we baked anythin', we caught our stove on fire. 'Member?"

 

"How can I forget that?" Charlie laughed a bit, "And just this mornin', we almost caught the stove  _top_ on fire."

 

The kids laughed. Through the joy of the freshly-baked cookies and talk about church and youth group, Charlie spotted Benjamin. He watched silently as the little boy went upstairs, cookie in hand. In the background, he heard the door to his room shut quietly and he sighed. He was going to have to find a way to get through to his son soon, or he had a bad feeling something would happen. His stomach was already churning with worry.


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone was looking forward to Sunday. The kids wanted to go back to church and so did Charlie, but for him, it was so much more than just going back. It would be the first time he took the kids to church without his wife. Ex-wife. He found himself having to correct his thoughts sometimes. 

 

"Wake up, Annie," he knocked on her bedroom door, which had a hand-made sign that said 'keep out, please!' with a horse head drawn below the words in pen, "time to get ready."

 

To his surprise, the door opened and Annie was standing there in her pajamas. But something was off about her. Her eyes were slightly puffy and reddened. She had been crying and he could tell. He also wondered if she had slept well. Her hair was a bit more knotted and frizzy than usually, and past her, he could see that her blankets were very messy and her sheets had been un-tucked from the bed as well.

 

"You sleep okay?" He asked curiously.

 

"Yeah," his daughter answered, but her voice was gravelly, "I'm gonna get dressed. Be down in a bit."

 

He frowned as she shut the door and he heard the little click of the lock. That usually meant she wanted to be left alone, so he decided that was a good idea. He went around and knocked on the doors of his other kids - Graham's and Benjamin's, and then Bella's. He went into his bedroom to get dressed and found himself staring at his double in the mirror. He ran his hand through what little hair he had. He always had it buzzed, but it was getting a bit long. He slid his hands across his button up shirt, which was rolled up to his elbows, but neatly so. White, of course. He wore slacks and nice shoes. His tie was black with white deer antlers on it. The same one he wore for church in Alabama. 

 

When he left the room, he heard commotion downstairs. It was quiet, as it always was on Sunday mornings. Even when they didn't go to church. It was the rest day, meaning no one did chores (except for feeding the animals, which Charlie did himself) or fully cooked meals. When he got downstairs, he saw Graham eating a bowl of cereal with Benjamin. The little boy still had bags under his eyes and was simply picking at a baggie of dry cereal. The lack of him eating was worrying Charlie a lot, because usually, Benjamin had a huge appetite. 

 

"Mornin', dad." Graham greeted through a yawn. 

 

"Good mornin' you two," he smiled at the sight of them both in their church clothing, Graham with a bowtie and Benjamin with a tie, "nice to see you all dressed up again."

 

"Even though I'm not really a fan of fancy," Graham said with a chuckle, adjusting his bowtie, "I think it's nice too. Feels nice."

 

Charlie grabbed a pear from the bowl on the kitchen counter and bit into it. Perfectly ripe. He was content with just a piece of fruit for breakfast, usually. There was a surprisingly comfortable silence between the three of them. Then, after a little while, the girls came downstairs. Bella was in a short-sleeved and lace-sleeved white dress with a pair of lacy white shoes. On her head was a flowery crown that had daisies on it. Annie was wearing a white dress as well, but the sleeves were covered by a denim jacket. She wore a very thin, translucent scarf around her neck that was a pale blue. She had a white flower clip in her hair, which was in a braid. And of course, she wore her cowboy boots. She never wore anything else shoe-wise, anyway.

 

"Mornin' girls." He said.

 

"Mornin' daddy!" Bella ran over and hugged her father's legs.

 

She was quick to let go and push a stool to the counter, grabbing a pear just like her father. Bella liked to copy as many of her siblings and family members as she possibly could and it was kind of cute. Sometimes. Other times, it got really annoying. He looked at Annie and saw that she was spreading cream cheese on a bagel. She was very quiet and her eyes were only focused on the butter knife spreading the cheese.

 

Again, there was silence. This time, it was a little tenser because of how Annie seemed so quietly upset and how Benjamin kept picking at his food, obviously exhausted. It was beginning to worry him. The darkness in them was starting to spread from kid to kid and he didn't know what to do. He wasn't good with talking to his kids. Like, he could, he just wasn't good at it. Nyah was the one who did that. He sighed to himself and tossed the rest of the pear into the garbage. All of the sudden, he really wasn't feeling hungry anymore. It was amazing how kids could affect their parent.

 

"Alright, let's get a move on," Charlie managed to force a smile, "we don't wanna be late."

 

The kids hurried to put things away or put dirty dishes in the sink. Annie had one half of her bagel left, so she put it into her mouth as she grabbed her bible from the drawer in the living room table. The other kids followed suit and headed out to the truck. Charlie helped Bella and Benjamin into the cab of the truck, them having to be hooked into their booster seats. Graham and Annie got into the bed of the truck and leaned against the sides. It was very illegal to do so, so when they got into town, they'd lay down and hide. It was their routine and was the same way in Alabama. The difference was they had lived in such a small town that they could sometimes get away with it.

 

The drive was surprisingly short. Charlie was quiet, the sound of the radio on in the background was very soft and Bella was jabbering up a storm with Benjamin, who seemed to care less. He looked at his son for a moment, noticing the lack of liveliness in his eyes as he looked out the window, observing the buildings passing by. Then Charlie looked out the rear window. Graham and Annie were laying horizontally, propping their heads on the wheel wall. They were quiet as well, it seemed. Their lips weren't moving.

 

When they pulled into the church parking lot, 


End file.
